


Wine and Roses

by lasergirl



Category: Second Sight (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-04-02
Updated: 2010-04-02
Packaged: 2017-10-08 15:50:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/77244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lasergirl/pseuds/lasergirl





	Wine and Roses

_**Second Sight: Wine and Roses 1/?**_  
**Title:** Wine and Roses  
**Fandom:** _Second Sight_  
**Rating:** G/PG  
**Pairing**: future Boyd/Tanner?, past Tanner/Pewsey (M/M)  
**Notes:** The aftermath of Tanner's departure from the Special Murder Unit has everyone guessing, until he comes clean with Jack Boyd.  
**Series:** Can follow after my story _Bittersweet_: [Part One](http://www.livejournal.com/users/coelogyne/10565.html), [Part Two](http://www.livejournal.com/users/coelogyne/10872.html), [Part Three](http://www.livejournal.com/users/coelogyne/11173.html).

Two months into the promotion and he still found himself wondering - what would Ross Tanner do? - before making his move and casting about for the next piece of the puzzle. At least he only had the reputation and not the expectation to go up against - Jack Boyd was not an impulsive, reckless (some would say 'careless' but say it quietly) as Ross Tanner, worked not on gut instinct but on cold, hard fact. He tracked the scent like a well-bred bloodhound, with half the commotion and baying.

Boyd's team was the Special Murder Unit, crack, elite detectives working high profile, volatile cases. Not only was there the pressure to get the job done and do it well, but the added challenge of looking graceful while doing it; all public eyes were on the Special Murder Unit and it was the Department's newest golden toy.

Tanner's departure from the Unit had been rife with rumors, full of conjecture - and he couldn't have chosen a more public time to do it - the press conference for the Youth Centre slaying, the high-publicity arson-murder case where everyone, suspects and victims alike were playing the race card. And that was how Boyd came to his new role as head of the until. Tanner stepped out during the conference and hardly anyone saw him leave the building.

Rumors were that it was nerves, stress, divorce, alcoholism, affairs with co-workers, but however true these shades may have been, Boyd still had his one fragment of truth. The suspect (and later the convicted) hit the nail on the head when he called Tanner's blind man's bluff.

"Just how bad are your eyes?" Boyd has asked him then, in the room with the secret-keepers - himself, Tanner and DS Pewsey. And damn him, if Tanner wasn't a playboy; said "It depends how much I've been drinking," flashed Pewsey a grin and slid out of the room.

The item never came out in court, at least not formally stated and only Boyd wondered and didn't dare ask DS Pewsey. He had been loyal to Tanner long before Boyd, and without words Boyd knew the whole matter was out of discussion, no question.

So, two months passed and Jack Boyd earned his own promotion, executing two sensitive investigations with brutal aim and dedication. In a sense, it was a trial by fire because there was no one there to walk him through it, to hold his hand. He took Tanner's old office, took over his job, shouldered his responsibilities and learned to smile at the hungry press.

And now, in the lull between cases, Boyd gazed around his spare office and pondered. The irony was not lost on him; after the final press conference, weeping family and sober news reporters - that he had followed blindly in DCI Tanner's footsteps. _Former_ DCI Tanner, he corrected, dropping the rest of the photos, the evidence, the suspects, into a file box. It was late afternoon, and most of the staff had taken their leave. Tomorrow the packup experts would come in, label everything and cross-file it in every way imaginable, then make it disappear into the vast and cavernous archives until it was ever required.

It had not been all wine and roses. Tanner's departure had left the Unit in a state of upset, a disjointed and uncoordinated body, and Boyd had a hell of a time reining it back in. Some of the detectives resented him, thought his quiet demeanor hid timidity, and there had been angry words with DS Pewsey who was convinced he'd driven Tanner away.

It had been time for him to go, and Pewsey knew it; Tanner's ability to continue as Unit Head was severely crippled by his eyesight problems. Boyd still didn't know the truth about it, but another negative firearms exam and he would have been suspended, the whole story would have come out eventually and Boyd's ass would have been on the line. Imagine the departmental scandals it would have caused; the Detective Chief Inspector fooling everyone and lying to his superiors, working in high-pressure, socially sensitive cases where even a tiny slip, one missed bit of evidence could have the entire case tossed out on its ear! Naturally the Department couldn't know, so Boyd sat on it, took the heat and the flak from the rest of the team, settled down and solved two solid cases, hoping for respect, hoping for a break.

There was a tentative finger-rap at his door, and he looked up to see the fair head of DS Pewsey poke into the room. Boyd sighed and flipped the cover shut on his file work.

"Sir, have you got a moment?" Pewsey edged into the room, apprehension on his face. Boyd waved a hand and he shut the door. "It's about DCI Tanner, I… well, you remember we were working together on the King case. I know you didn't like him then, I know you thought he was out for all he could get."

"He was the Department's playboy," said Boyd flatly, "Man who could do no wrong. He had free rein, no questions asked, and I was the new guy. Of course I resented it."

"Well, I… he… wanted to thank you for not making it more difficult than it had been already." Pewsey smiled thinly, nervous hands twitching at his trouser pockets. "He said it could have been bad, made the Department look very bad indeed. You imagine how sensitive it was."

"Yes." In fact, the sensitive nature of his position had forced Boyd into a unique corner, much as a venomous snake is trapped, yet still has the ability to wound, to kill. He smiled benignly, encouraging Pewsey. "How bad was it?"

"I was given to understand that he is now legally blind," Pewsey managed it without a hitch in his voice, though the expression on his face was not pleasant. He looked beseechingly at Boyd. "He counted on me to keep the truth from everyone, even you, Sir, and I would appreciate it if you'd do the same for him. I know he didn't show a lot of respect for you at the time, but I hope you can let that go."

Boyd rubbed the bridge of his nose wearily, willing some focus into his tired brain.

"He told you to come in here and tell me this?"

"Not exactly, Sir, he's… well," Pewsey reached for the doorknob and opened it, and Tanner was there, standing in the deserted hallway. He blinked at the glare from Boyd's full wall of windows, then strode carefully in. He stopped in front of Boyd's desk and put out a hand to verify it.

"Tanner," Boyd found himself stammering, "I wasn't expecting you."

"No," said Tanner blandly, fixing Boyd with a scarily acute glare, "How is the office, Detective Inspector? I chose it for the light."

Then DS Pewsey tiptoed softly out and closed the door behind him.

Questions? Comments? Feedback always appreciated.


End file.
